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Apr 24

Left-Past and Right-Future Representation: The Effect of Product Facing Direction

Location:

Gerri C. LeBow Hall
722
3220 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Product image display in marketing communications plays an important role in consumer perception and behavior. In this dissertation, I explore one significant aspect of product image display, namely, the facing direction of product images. Building on the literature of visuospatial attention and spatial representation of time, this research shows that products whose images are facing toward the left (vs. right) are evaluated more favorably when consumers focus on the past, whereas the reverse holds true when consumers focus on the future. Furthermore, this research compares product facing direction with a prior-established spatial cue of time, namely, product horizontal position. This research shows that when the horizontal position of product images is matched with consumers’ temporal focus (i.e., left-past, right-future), products facing toward a congruent (vs. incongruent) direction with the position will receive more favorable evaluations. This research further shows that the effect of facing direction is stronger than the horizontal position effect. That is, product images facing toward a congruent direction (and positioned incongruently) with consumers’ temporal focus result in higher product evaluations than those positioned congruently (and facing toward an incongruent direction) with consumers’ temporal focus. Finally, this research demonstrates an important moderating role of product features (i.e., desirability and feasibility) in the effect of facing direction on product evaluations. That is, for products higher on feasibility features, a match (vs. mismatch) between facing direction and consumers’ temporal focus leads to higher product evaluations, whereas the reverse holds true for products higher on desirability features. Important theoretical and managerial implications of this research are discussed.

Many thanks to Yuli’s dissertation committee: • Committee Chair – Hyokjin Kwak – Professor – Drexel University • Committee Member: Rolph Anderson - Professor – Drexel University • Committee Member: Trina Larsen Andras - Professor – Drexel University • Committee Member: Charles R. Taylor - Professor- Villanova University • Committee Member: Marina Puzakova - Assistant Professor – Lehigh University

PhD Candidate